The High Street electronics chains Currys and PC World face embarrassment
after staff were caught posting abusive and offensive comments on the social
networking site Facebook.

Around 3,000 people have become members of the Facebook discussion group in which past and present employees post messages about customers.

Some of the discussion boards were titled "A******* customers!", "Really Stupid Customers!" and "Some customers are really really stupid" in which customers are branded "retards" and "t****".

Other discussion boards had names such as "Chatting up customers" and "The sale of goods act (as amended by customers)" and included posts which said customers deserved a "punch" and asked whether staff should be allowed to "cattle prod" customers.

DSG International, the shops' parent company, is understood to have launched an investigation into the abuse after some staff posted messages under their real names.

One member of the group even boasted of having a sexual relationship with a female customer after he found her on MySpace using details from a sale, the BitterWallet blog reported.

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One post, full of misspelt words, in response to a customer asking for a discount read: "Short answer: No. Long answer: No and go f*** yourself you hardfisted, smallwalleted, annoying, iggnorant tightfisted f***tard."

A spokeswoman for DSG International, said some comments on the unofficial "DSGI Employees" group page were posted by former members of staff.

A statement read: "We have clear guidelines for staff and will investigate any alleged abuse of customers.

"Delivering excellent customer service is at the forefront of everything we do, and so we are very disappointed a small number of our colleagues have made these comments on a social-networking website.

"We will take the necessary action with any staff found to be acting inappropriately."

Earlier this year it emerged that Marks and Spencers staff ridiculed had ridiculed their customers as "idiots and cheap little b*******" in another Facebook group.

Tesco staff also branded shoppers "moronic" and "smelly" on a similar forum and Waitrose launched an investigation after they found descriptions of customers as "pikey skanks" on the same website.

British Airways took action against staff who complained about their customers' "stupid American accents" on Facebook.

Virgin was also embarrassed when employees labelled some fliers "chavs".